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Expressed Emotion Attitudes and Individual Psychopathology Among the Relatives of Bipolar Patients
Author(s) -
Goldstein Tina R.,
Miklowitz David J.,
Richards Jeffrey A.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
family process
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.011
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1545-5300
pISSN - 0014-7370
DOI - 10.1111/j.1545-5300.2002.00645.x
Subject(s) - psychopathology , expressed emotion , psychology , bipolar disorder , mood , clinical psychology , mood disorders , psychiatry , anxiety
This study investigated the relationships between expressed emotion (EE) and individual psychopathology among 82 biological and non‐biological relatives of 66 patients with bipolar I disorder. Relatives' psychopathology was assessed via the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM‐III‐R, Patient Version (SCID‐P) and the General Behavior Inventory (GBI), a self‐report measure of lifetime subsyndromal mood disturbances. We hypothesized that relatives who held high‐EE critical, hostile, and/or overinvolved attitudes toward their bipolar family member, as measured via the Camberwell Family Interview, would be more likely to have DSM‐III‐R Axis I diagnoses on the SCID, as well as more mood and temperamental disturbances on the GBI, than those who held low‐EE attitudes. The findings did not support a significant relationship between overall EE status and psychopathology in family members. However, relatives without significant Axis I pathology scored significantly higher than those with Axis I pathology on one measure of EE, emotional overinuolvement. The findings are discussed with reference to explanations for the genesis of high‐EE attitudes.